Switching Devices

1. Figure 1 shows an inverter configuration using four static switches for converting a DC input
voltage across PQ into an AC voltage across AB. Each switch is to be treated as non-ideal with
a forward characteristics given by:

𝑣𝑓 = 1.6 + 0.1𝑖𝑓 𝑉

The repetitive switching frequency is 500 Hz. In each switching cycle, the sequence is as
follows:
𝑆1 and 𝑆2 are both turned on at t = 0 and both are turned off at t = 0.6ms.
𝑆3 and 𝑆4 are next turned on at t = 1ms and turned off at t = 1.6ms.
Neglect all power losses in the switches other than that due to forward voltage drop during the
ON state.
a. Determine
i. The maximum instantaneous power loss in any one switch.
ii. The average power loss in it.
b. Determine the maximum instantaneous power output from the converter and the
average efficiency.

Figure 1
2. In figure 2, assume linear variation with respect to t for both voltage and current, both during
tON and tOFF. The OFF state voltage is V, the ON state current is I and the switching frequency
is f. Assume that the switch is ideal as regards its static performance. Obtain expression for :
a. The average switching power loss
 b. The instantaneous peak power loss in the switch

Figure 2

3. In the previous example assume that the static performance of the switch is also non-ideal and
the forward voltage drop during ON state is constant at 2V. Neglect leakage during the OFF
state. The transition times needed by the switch are tON = 2μs and tOFF = 4μs. The OFF state
voltage is 120V and the ON state current is 10A. The switch has a repetitive switching
frequency f (in Hz). The switching duty cycle is D = 0.6, defined as the ratio of the on time of
the switch to the switching period.
Determine the frequency f at which the switching power loss begins to exceed the static power
loss. What is the total power dissipation in the switch at this frequency?
Rectifiers

1. In the circuit below, the balanced three-phase voltages v1, v2, and v3 have an rms values of
220V at 50Hz. Assume current in the dc side to be continuous and ripple-free with a value of
15A.

a. Draw the waveforms of the voltage

across D1 and output voltage.
b. Calculate the average value of the
output voltage, Vdc

2. Given a bridge controlled rectifier has an AC source Vm = 100V at 50Hz, and R-L load with
R = 5 ohm, L = 600mH. The delay angle is 30 degrees. (If ωL > 10R, assume constant current
load.)
a. Determine the average current in the load
b. Determine the first two higher order harmonics of the source current
c. Determine the power absorbed by the load
3. A half wave rectifier has a source of 120V RMS at 60Hz. R=20 ohm, L=0.04H, and the delay
angle is 45 degrees. Determine:
a. The expression for i(ωt),
b. Average current,
c. The dc power absorbed by the load.
4. The power supplied to a 50 resistive heating element driven from a single-phase 230V, 50Hz
supply is controlled by a thyristor, which operates with a variable firing angle .
a. Draw the circuit arrangement.
b. For a thyristor firing angle  = 45o, sketch the waveforms of the voltage across and
power delivered to the heating element.
c. Derive general algebraic expressions for the average voltage and power supplied to the
heating element in terms of .
d. Estimate the firing angle required for the heating element to be supplied with an
average power of 500W.
e. The circuit is operated with a firing angle  = 45o, which is obtained using a triggering
circuit from the zero-crossing point of the supply and calibrated for a 50Hz ac voltage.
 If the magnitude and the frequency of the voltage varies within ±4% and ±3% of the
nominal values respectively, calculate the maximum and minimum value of power
supplied to the heating element.

5. In the circuit vs1 and vs2 have an rms value of 120V at 50Hz, and the two are 180o out of phase.
Assume Ls = 5mH and Id = 10A is a dc current. For the following two values of the delay angle
α, obtain vs1, is1, and vo wave forms. Calculate the average value of the output voltage, Vdc and
the commutation interval γ at

a. 45o
b. 135o

6. Consider the single-phase, half-controlled converter, where vs is sinusoidal.

a. Draw vs, is, and vo waveforms and identify the devices conducting for various intervals
for the following values of α: 45o, 90o, and 135o.
b. Calculate DPF, PF, and %THD for Vdc = 0.5 Vdo, where Vdo is the dc output at α = 0.
c. Repeat part (b) for a fully controlled bridge converter.
d. Compare results in parts (b) and (c).

7. In the circuit below, the balanced three-phase voltages va, vb, and vc have an rms values of
120V at 60Hz. Assume Ls = 5 mH and Id = 10A is a dc current. For the following two values
of the delay angle α, obtain va, ia, and vo wave forms. Calculate the average value of the output
voltage, Vdc and the commutation interval γ at
a. 45o
b. 135o
8. In the three-phase converter
a. Draw the output voltage waveform.
b. Derive the expression for the dc value of the output voltage, Vdc.
c. Derive the expression for the displacement power factor in terms of α and γ.
d. VLL = 460V at 50Hz and Ls = 25 μH. Calculate the commutation angle γ if Vdc = 525V
and Pdc = 500kW.

Choppers and Inverters

1. Buck converter
a. A buck converter is supplied from a 50V battery source. Given L=400uH, C=100uF,
R=20 Ohm, f=20KHz and D=0.4.
Calculate: (a) output voltage (b) maximum and minimum
inductor current, (c) output voltage ripple.
b. A buck converter has an input voltage of 50V and output of
25V. The switching frequency is 10KHz. The power output is
125W. (a) Determine the duty cycle, (b) value of L to limit the
peak inductor current to 6.25A, (c) value of capacitance to limit
the output voltage ripple factor to 0.5%.
c. Design a buck converter such that the output voltage is 28V
when the input is 48V. The load is 8Ohm. Design the converter
 such that it will be in continuous current mode. The output
voltage ripple must not be more than 0.5%. Specify the
frequency and the values of each component. Suggest the power
switch also.
2. Boost converter
a. The boost converter has the following parameters: Vd=20V,
D=0.6, R=12.5ohm, L=65uH, C=200uF, fs=40KHz. Determine
(a) output voltage, (b) average, maximum and minimum
inductor current, (c) output voltage ripple.
b. A step-up chopper is to provide a 48V across a 12  load from a 12V DC supply
(battery). The chopper inductance is 10 H and the chopper frequency is 100kHz.
Determine the duty cycle required and the variation of battery current during switching,
and the maximum and minimum battery currents.
c. Design a boost converter to provide an output voltage of 36V
from a 24V source. The load is 50W. The voltage ripple factor
must be less than 0.5%. Specify the duty cycle ratio, switching
frequency, inductor and capacitor size, and power device.
3. A buck-boost chopper is to provide 110V across a 20
The chopper inductance is 20 µH and the chopper frequency is 200 kHz. Assume that the
circuit is in steady state and the circuit operates in continuous current conduction mode. Also
consider a capacitor across the load that has a value large enough for ripple free output voltage.
a. Draw the circuit diagram.
b. Briefly explain the operation of this circuit.
c. Determine the duty cycle required.
d. Derive an expression of the average inductor current in terms of the average source
current.
4. In the H-bridge (or full-bridge) circuit shown below the timing diagram of the transistors are
also illustrated for one cycle of the operation. The dc supply voltage is 10V and a resistor load
is attached across the output terminals.
a. Plot the voltage and current waveforms of the load. Also indicate the voltage and
current levels in the sketches. What type of Power Electronics converter is this circuit?
 b. Calculate the rms value for one cycle of the voltage waveform (No numerical answer
is required. Only an expression demonstrating the method of calculation is sufficient)

5. A three phase full bridge voltage source inverter is shown in Fig. 3. A number of control
arrangements are possible for this inverter. One of the control schemes is "six step
control" (due to output voltage waveforms). If six step control with 180o mode of
conduction is used:
a. Plot the waveforms of van, vbn, vcn, vab, vbc and vca.
b. Plot the waveform of phase a current for purely resistive load and R-L load.
c. Show the combination of ON state switches at each interval when the load is R-L.
d. Determine the rms value of the output phase to neutral voltage in terms of the
input dc voltage.
AC AC Converters

1. For the circuit shown below

a. What type of converter does this circuit represent and which devices will conduct
during the first half cycle and which during the second half cycle?
b. For α = 30o, draw the waveforms of load voltage, load current and voltage across
the converter.
c. If the input ac voltage is 220V and R = 12 , calculate the rms value of the output
voltage.

Additional Questions 1

1. For the circuit shown in Fig.1 (a) the output voltage shown in Fig.1 (b) is generated.
a. What type of Power Electronics converter is this circuit? (2 pts.)
b. Discuss briefly the operation of the converter in generating the given output
voltage waveform. (4 pts.)

(a) (b)

Figure 1: (a) Circuit diagram, (b) Output voltage waveform

2. For the H-Bridge VSI shown in Fig.2 (a), the upper and the lower switches in the same
inverter leg operate in a complementary manner with one switch turned on and the other
turned off. The control signals for S1 and S2 are generated by comparing a sinusoidal
modulating wave and a triangular carrier wave as shown in Fig.2 (b).
a. What is the type of the modulation technique? (2 pts.)
b. Draw the waveform of the output voltage. (4 pts.)
c. Draw the harmonic spectrum of the output voltage including the fundamental
frequency term and the three major harmonics with their sideband harmonics. (4
pts.)

(a) (b)

Figure 2: (a) H-Bridge VSI (b) Modulation technique and gate signals

3. A DC machine is supplied from a DC supply via a four-quadrant DC chopper (H-Bridge)

as shown in Fig.3 below. Using the status of the devices in the circuit and i-v graph, briefly
describe how this motor can be operated in clockwise and counterclockwise. (5 pts.)

Figure 3: Four-quadrant DC chopper

4. In the three-phase converter of Fig. 4, the balanced three-phase voltages van, vbn, and vcn
have an rms values of 220V at 50Hz. Assume Ls = 5 mH and Id = 15A is a dc current. For
30o of delay angle α,
a. Derive the expression for the output voltage, vo. (8 pts.)
 b. Derive the expression for the commutation interval γ. (3 pts.)
c. Calculate the average value of the output voltage, Vdc. (3 pts.)
d. Calculate the input power factor and THD of the source current by neglecting
the effect of the source inductance. (4 pts.)

Figure 4: Three phase controlled rectifier

5. For a buck boost Chopper of steady state and continuous current mode of operation:
a. Draw the circuit diagram. (2 pts.)
b. Derive expression for the output voltage in terms of the input voltage and the duty
cycle. (3 pts.)
c. Derive expression for the minimum value of the inductor. (3 pts.)
d. Derive expression for the value of the capacitor required. (3 pts.)

Additional Questions 2

1.
a. List and discuss briefly at least three functions of gate/base drive circuits in power
converters. (6 pts.)
b. Draw the path in the active region followed by a power BJT during:
i. Switching a pure R load (2 pts.)
ii. Switching R-L load (3 pts.)
iii. Switching R-C load (3 pts.)
iv. For b and c determine the snubber circuit used for load line shaping. (4 pts.)
2. In the circuit below, the balanced three-phase voltages va, vb, and vc have an rms values of
220V at 50Hz. Assume Ls = 5 mH and Id = 15A is a dc current. For 30o of delay angle α,
a. Explain why thyristors have to be used as switches than the transistor family
switching devices. (2 pts.)
b. Obtain phase a current, ia and output voltage, v0 waveforms. (8 pts.)
c. Calculate the commutation interval γ (6 pts.)
d. Calculate the average value of the output voltage, Vdc (6 pts.)
 Figure 1

3. Design a buck boost converter to provide an output voltage of 24V from a 36V source. The
load is 50W. The voltage ripple factor must be less than 0.5%. Specify the duty cycle ratio,
inductor and capacitor size. Take MOSFET with switching frequency 20 KHz as the switching
device. (16 pts.)
4. For the circuit illustrated in Fig. 2 below by using the switching waveforms for S1 and S2 for
θ = 300 :
a. Sketch the current, i0 and voltage, v0 waveforms (8 pts.)
b. Determine the rms value of v0 in terms of Vdc (6 pts.)
c. Determine two higher order harmonics of v0 in terms of Vdc (6 pts.)

Note that the capacitors in the circuit are equal and very large.

Figure 2
5. The power in a resistor is to be controlled by a tapped transformer as shown in Fig.3. Assume
that the load is a 10Ω, the full transformer secondary as 100V with the tapping at 70V.
a. Plot the voltage waveform across the load for triggering angles of α2 = α4 = 30o and
α1=α3= 120o. Here α1 and α2 are the triggering angles of Th1 and Th2, and α3 and α4
are the triggering angles of Th3 and Th4, all defined: reference to the zero crossing
points of the supply waveform. (8 pts.)
b. What is the RMS value of this voltage (vo). (6 pts.)
Figure 3